Trinidadian-Canadian director Richard Fang talks to Jonathan Ali about his documentary, “The Mystery of Harold Sonny Ladu.”
writer Harold Sonny LaDue Born and raised in Trinidad, and later residing in Canada, he had a very short career and a very short life. There’s no pain like this body (1973), his first novel, a poetic portrayal of the hardships of Indo-Trinidadian life in the early 20th century, heralded the arrival of a talented writer. Sadly, Ladu was murdered in the sugarcane fields of central Trinidad at the age of 28. His second and final novel, an absurdist comedy, yesterday (1974) was published posthumously and has recently been republished.
Trinidadian-Canadian filmmaker in new documentary Richard Huang An attempt to look back on Radu’s life and death, based on previously unpublished interviews from decades ago filmed by a Trinidadian documentarian. Christopher Laird With family, friends, and colleagues The Mystery of Harold Sonny LaDue Change shape Ragafoo Richard Fong is Jonathan Ali About confronting him.
Why is Harold Sonny LaDue worth engaging with today?
I had come across Ladu’s book in the 1970s or ’80s and found it not only fascinating but incredibly evocative, a novel by a Canadian author set in a fictional Trinidad, and by the time I began work on the documentary, I still remembered the physical discomfort it caused me. There’s no pain like this body The endless rain that soaks everything and the rebellious weirdness of the villagers yesterday.
But I knew nothing about Ladu. I learned all about him from a video interview with Christopher Laird. What I discovered is that Ladu’s life and death are as remarkable as his novels. He was a brilliant writer, but a flawed human being. I have tried to convey this without being obscene or endangering the people Christopher interviewed.
How difficult was this?
The difficulty in assessing Radu as a writer and as a person is due to the depiction of a father being violent towards a mother and children. There’s no pain like this body is usually read as a critique of patriarchy. What does it mean that Paradou was portraying himself? The film takes the approach of providing as much description as possible and letting the viewer make the judgement.
Christopher Laird tried to film There’s no pain like this bodyYou beautifully evoke the film that never came to fruition by using animated versions of passages from the novel and readings from various authors.
Christopher’s inability to complete a full-length fiction film No pain It was due to a lack of funding for a live-action drama. This was not a problem for me, as I don’t really like dramatizing documentaries. I prefer to give the viewer a framework of images on which to build the scenes in their imagination.
The artists featured in the documentary – David Chariandi, Ramabai Espinet, Andile Gosin, Kevin Jared Hosin and Shani Muthoo – all share roots in Indian slavery and have some connection to Ladu and the project. Adam Williams, who illustrated the animation, is primarily a ceramicist and I have long admired his illustrations of his work. I was looking for someone familiar with the landscapes and people of Central Trinidad, and Adam has a Trinidadian mischief and wit.
Enigma This work is a fitting addition to your long and varied body of work, as it explores the intersecting lives of figures who could be considered on the fringes of history. What continues to draw you to these stories?
I was a child when television came to Trinidad and Tobago. Most of the shows were American or British. Seeing black Americans with strange accents and West Indian characters who looked Chinese played by British actors made me realize that these shows were About Not us for So when I started making my own work in Canada, I knew I wanted to not only represent marginalized perspectives, but also speak to underrepresented audiences.
The challenge with working with marginalized subjects is their marginality. Although some of my videos have been shown in large international venues, I accept the fact that I am making work for a limited audience. My first job after art school was in local cable TV. I remember my station manager saying that a show only matters to five people, and that if we reach those five people, we’re successful.
The Mystery of Harold Sonny LaDue (2024)
Directed by: Richard Fong
Canada, Trinidad and Tobago • 84 min
